Majorca weather warning as storm set to hit British holiday favourite days after floods devastated Valencia

Majorca weather warning as storm set to hit British holiday favourite days after floods devastated Valencia

Majorca is braced for potential flooding as the popular holiday island is due to be hit by a storm days after another devastated Valencia.

More than 200 people died in Spain after severe flooding in Valencia and surrounding areas led to the country’s deadliest natural disaster in living memory.

Authorities are now warning that more storms are expected to hit other parts of the couhntry.

The Spanish weather agency issued alerts for strong rains in parts of the Balearic Islands including Majorca.

A warning is in place on the island - a popular destination among British holidaymakers - from 10am on Friday, says weather forecaster Aemet.

It predicts that some areas of Majorca could see 50mm - two inches - of rain could fall in the space of just one hour.

Cars are photographed piled up after being swept away by floods in Valencia (AP)
Cars are photographed piled up after being swept away by floods in Valencia (AP)

Meanwhile more than 120mm - 4.7in - of rain could fall across 12 hours.

On mainland Spain, search teams including soldiers continued on Friday to look for an unknown number of missing people, many feared to still be trapped in wrecked vehicles or flooded garages.

Three days after flashfloods swept through several towns in southern Valencia, in eastern Spain, the initial shock was giving way to anger, frustration and a wave of solidarity.

Many streets were still blocked by piled-up vehicles and debris, in some cases trapping residents in their homes.

Some places still did not have electricity, running water or stable telephone connections.

The death toll has now reached 202, authorities in Valencia said on Friday.

Meanwhile, flood survivors and volunteers were beginning the titanic task of clearing a thick layer of dense mud.

Residents in communities like Paiporta, where at least 62 people died, and Catarroja, have been walking miles to Valencia to get provisions, passing neighbours from unaffected areas who are bringing water, essential products or shovels to help remove the mud.

Juan Ramon Adsuara, the mayor of Alfafar, one of the hardest hit towns, said the aid is not nearly enough for residents trapped in an "extreme situation".

"There are people living with corpses at home,” he said. “It's very sad. We are organising ourselves, but we are running out of everything.

"We go with vans to Valencia, we buy and we come back, but here we are totally forgotten."

Train tracks wrecked by floods in Paiporta, near Valencia, Spain (AP)
Train tracks wrecked by floods in Paiporta, near Valencia, Spain (AP)

Rushing water turned narrow streets into death traps and spawned rivers that tore through homes and businesses, leaving many uninhabitable.

On social media, some residents have posted photos of missing people in the hope of getting information about their whereabouts, while others launched initiatives such as Suport Mutu, or Mutual Support, which connects requests for help with people who are offering it.

Others organised collections of basic goods throughout the country or launched fundraisers.

Spain's Mediterranean coast is used to autumn storms that can cause flooding, but this was the most powerful flash flooding in recent memory.

The country has suffered through an almost two-year drought, making the flooding worse because the dry ground was so hard it could not absorb the rain.

Members of the local police react after one of their colleagues died in the floods in Valencia, (AP)
Members of the local police react after one of their colleagues died in the floods in Valencia, (AP)

Scientists link it to climate change, which is also behind increasingly high temperatures and droughts in Spain and the heating up of the Mediterranean Sea.

Human-caused climate change has doubled the likelihood of a storm like this week's deluge in Valencia, according to a partial analysis issued on Thursday by World Weather Attribution, a group made up of dozens of international scientists who study global warming's role in extreme weather.